IV International Scientific and Practical Conference, ‘Library Development Strategies: From Idea to Implementation’
Here’s a report on how our 4th International Scientific and Practical Conference, ‘Library Development Strategies: From Idea to Implementation’, went
The first day was incredibly packed. We began with a wonderful musical welcome from the Igor Sikorsky KPI Folk Bandura Ensemble.
One of the day’s key events was an open discussion entitled ‘Leadership in Conditions of Defined Uncertainty’, featuring cultural and civic activist, Olha Viieru, Director of the National Centre ‘Ukrainian House’, and Anatolii Melnychenko, PhD in Philosophy and Rector of the National Technical University of Ukraine ‘Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute’. The discussion was moderated by Oksana Brui, a PhD in Social Communications, President of ‘Ukrainian Library Association’ and Deputy Director-General of the Yaroslav Mudryi National Library of Ukraine.
They discussed leadership in education and culture, building effective teams, striking a balance between humanity and high standards, and how a sense of belonging to a culture helps people find support and resilience.
Also on the first day of the conference, a charity raffle was held in support of the Yaroslav Mudryi National Library of Ukraine, whose building was damaged by Russian shelling. Together, we raised 10,500 hryvnias – and gained a huge boost of positivity.
The second day of the conference was a veritable journey through ideas, experiences and visions of the future of libraries.
During an open discussion between Oksana Brui and Yevhen Hlibovytskyi, Director-General of the Frontier Institute and a member of the Supervisory Board of Ukraine’s Public Broadcasting Service, a lecturer at the Ukrainian Catholic University, they discussed the impact of artificial intelligence on society, trust in libraries, their role in working with communities, and how to make libraries more visible and relevant to people.
Tomáš Foltýn, Director General of the National Library of the Czech Republic shared his experience of developing library strategies in the Czech Republic, spoke about the library community’s active involvement in this process, and explained how strategic planning helps libraries to develop in the long term.
Marie Østergaard, Director of the Aarhus Public Library Network, spoke about the Danish experience, where libraries do not compete with one another but operate as a single system. She discussed libraries as democratic spaces open to the community, and noted that books today are just one of many ways of disseminating knowledge.
Jerzy Woźniakiewicz, Director of the Voivodeship Public Library in Kraków, drawing on his institution’s experience, spoke about the future of libraries, the role of leadership and strategic vision. In particular, he noted that any strategy begins with a simple yet important question: ‘Why do we exist?’ – and that the pace of libraries’ development is largely determined by their users.
The third and final day of the conference was a kaleidoscope of ideas, experiences and practices from different parts of Ukraine.
During the session of short presentations, speakers discussed AI library assistants, mobile libraries for the Kyiv and Kharkiv regions, the concept of a ‘university without walls’, the development of open science at the KPI Library, leadership and institutional change in university libraries, involving students in the digitisation of early printed books, international placements and many other initiatives that are helping libraries to change and develop today.
The round-table discussion ‘Strategic Library Management: How to Shape the Future in a Constantly Changing Environment’ was no less eventful. Library directors Iryna Biriukova, Maryna Zhenchenko, Olha Krytska, Yevheniia Kulyk, Svitlana Moiseieva, Nataliia Nikolaienko and Ivanna Shcherbyna shared their own experiences of developing strategies, discussed the challenges faced by libraries, and – most importantly – spoke about the people driving all these changes.
We would like to thank our speakers, participants and sponsors – the ‘Kondor’ Publishing House and the Ukrainian-Japanese Centre at the Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute – as well as our partners and everyone who shared their ideas, experiences and inspiration over the course of these three days. It is precisely these conversations that help us to see new opportunities and build the future of libraries together.
